Harry Dunlop's stable star Robin Of Navan given stallion role in France

Harry Dunlop's admirable stable star Robin Of Navan is set to take up stallion duties at Haras de la Barbottiere in France next year in a deal brokered by Richard Venn.

The six-year-old chestnut, a €10,000 Arqana October yearling purchase by Con Marnane and resold for €47,000 to Anthony Stroud Bloodstock at the company's breeze-up sale, won six races and notched another 12 placings from 36 starts over five consecutive seasons.

Robin Of Navan won the Prix de Conde and Criterium de Saint-Cloud, in which he had Cloth Of Stars and Idaho behind, as a two-year-old and finished second in the Prix Greffulhe, September Stakes and Premio Roma at three.

He was a Group 3 winner at Chantilly at four, when he also finished a neck second to Mekhtaal in the Prix d'Ispahan, and he maintained a high level of form to this year, when he struck in the Group 2 Meilen-Trophy at Dusseldorf.

Dunlop said: ”He has been a horse of a lifetime and will be much missed in our yard but I am delighted that he is going to stand as a stallion in France where he is a multiple Group winner including the Group 1 Grand Criterium De Saint Cloud.

"He hails from a young family which has already produced other Group 1 winners including Lilly’s Candle, winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac last year. If his offspring are as tough as him, I'm sure they will do well on the racetrack and I very much look forward to seeing and buying them at the sales in the future."

Robin Of Navan joins another new recruit from Britain on the Haras de la Barbottiere roster in Group 1-winning sprinter Donjuan Triumphant. His introductory covering fee has been set at €3,000.

The stud's Stephane Werle said: "We were attracted by the horse himself, his performances and his origins. What he achieved at two and then all the way through to six, he had great longevity.

"He also has an interesting dam’s side to the pedigree. We have been following him for a while and of course he has run a lot in France, winning a Group 1 here at two. He is a good, tough horse that has proved versatile."

He continued: "We hope he’ll establish himself as a dual-purpose stallion because he proved himself talented on good ground, while American Post covered almost exclusively Flat-bred mares yet has had good success in the jumping sphere. His dam is by Muhtathir and he is primarily a jumps stallion, and a good damsire at that.

"We were interested in Robin Of Navan last year and now he’s here."

Donjuan Triumphant will stand the 2020 covering season at €4,500, and Werle remarked: "With Donjuan we saw a real opening for a speed-biased stallion in the west, given that there are plenty of speedy mares in this part of the world.

"The two acquisitions were made with a view to renew our range of stallions. Nicaron has proved himself as a sire and covered 160 mares here this year. We also have a son of Voix Du Nord who started with us this year, Chanducoq, who is the brother of Cokoriko."

Robin Of Navan was bred by Monique Lepeudry out of Cloghran, a placed half-sister to stakes winners Ming Zhi Cosmos and Melodyman from the family of disqualified Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Liliside (also by American Post), the dam of recent Cox Plate heroine Lys Gracieux.

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